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October 2, 2002
REPORT CARD PUTS ILLINOIS HIGHER ED ON HONOR ROLL
SPRINGFIELD - Illinois continues to rank among the
elite higher education systems in the nation, according to
Measuring Up 2002, the national report card released
today by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher
Education.
Illinois received an A and four B's in the National Center's
second report card, grading states in five categories of key
indicators crafted to measure higher education performance:
preparation for college, participation, affordability, degree
completion, and benefits. All states received an "Incomplete"
in a sixth category - learning - based on the National Center's
judgment that no reliable, comparable statistical measures
yet exist for evaluating statewide performance.
"Illinois continues to make a strong commitment and
wise investments in higher education, and those decisions
keep paying off," Governor Ryan said. "This record
is a fine tribute to our colleges and universities. But it
is also a testament to the leadership of our state boards,
the General Assembly and this administration. We worked hard
to put ourselves in this position, and that work must continue
in the future to ensure that Illinois will always have a place
at the top of the list of higher education systems in the
nation."
Illinois' grades in Measuring Up 2002 were:
- B+ in preparation
- A in participation
- B in affordability
- B- in degree completion
- B- in benefits.
"We are delighted to again rank among the premier higher
education systems in the nation," Steven H. Lesnik, Chairman
of the Illinois Board of Higher Education, said.
"This report card is a validation of the positive support
given to Illinois higher education by Governor George Ryan
and the General Assembly in recent years. Although we improved
in a number of areas, other states advanced even more. Thus,
to continue to be in the top echelon of states, we must redouble
our efforts, regardless of fiscal difficulties."
The state's overall "grade point average," was 86.4
in Measuring Up 2002, a slight decline from the first
report card issued two years ago when its 88.8 average placed
Illinois at the head of the class. Illinois ranked third in
the nation in Measuring Up 2002, behind Massachusetts
and Connecticut. Illinois' grades in preparation and affordability
fell from A's to B's and the grade in completion rose from
a C+ to B-.
"The national report card is an effective tool for highlighting
the strengths and weaknesses in higher education," Daniel
J. LaVista, Executive Director of the Board, said. "Our
grades reflect the emphasis the Board and our colleges and
universities have placed on improving student persistence
and degree completion. They also underscore the unfinished
business of strengthening high school preparation so students
arrive in college ready for the academic rigors they will
confront."
Illinois' grade in affordability declined from an A to a B
despite improvement in almost all of the criteria used to
evaluate how affordable a state's higher education is to students
and families. And in one area - state financial aid targeted
to low-income families - Illinois set the pace for the nation.
"The top performing state in providing need-based financial
aid, Illinois, provides more grant aid than the federal government
to Illinois residents," the National Center's report
noted.
The drop in the affordability grade reflected the impact of
California's vast community college system to dominate one
criteria: low-cost colleges. California was the sole state
to receive an A in affordability; in Measuring Up 2000,
Illinois was among five states graded A in affordability.
By most measures used by the National Center, affordability
of college in Illinois improved between the first and second
report cards. For example, the percent of family income needed
to pay for college expenses declined in all sectors of higher
education in Illinois, although the state still ranked below
the top-performing states. Similarly, Illinois' performance
on state grant aid aimed at low-income families improved over
the 2000 report card, while the share of income needed by
the poorest families to cover tuition at the lowest priced
colleges remained unchanged at 12 percent. And reliance on
loans to finance a college education declined. In 2000, the
average loan for Illinois students was $4,171; in 2002, it
fell to $3,379, though that figure was still above the $2,928
average of the top-performing states.
"We are proud of our record on affordability," LaVista
said. "The Board and state leaders have made need-based
aid a funding priority in most recent years. However, the
reductions made in the Monetary Award Program for fiscal 2003
threaten to undermine those past accomplishments. Illinois
cannot retain its national standing as an affordable place
to go to college if the commitment to need-based financial
aid diminishes."
Illinois continues to be one of the top-performing states
in the participation of its citizens in higher education,
although the National Center also noted that a significant
disparity exists in the rates of participation between white
and minority students of traditional college age. "We
have cause to celebrate the widespread access to college available
to Illinoisans," LaVista said. "Yet, we clearly
cannot rest on our laurels, nor have we. Far-reaching policies
relating to increasing diversity at Illinois colleges and
universities have been adopted by the Board of Higher Education,
and we will be diligent in pursuing various avenues to ensure
that the benefits of higher education are available to all
Illinois citizens."
Illinois' grade in preparation for college also slipped, from
an A to a B+, although the decline was not entirely unexpected,
LaVista said, because the first report card did not penalize
states in areas where data was unavailable. In 2002, as in
Measuring Up 2000, information on the percentage of
high school students enrolled in demanding math and science
courses was unavailable. LaVista said the decline in the grade
for preparation also underscores what the Prairie State Achievement
Exam has revealed: the high school curriculum needs to be
strengthened to require students to take the advanced coursework
that will enable them to success on the statewide test and
to ready themselves for the academic demands of college.
Illinois' grade for benefits of higher education - measuring
educational attainment, rise in personal income resulting
from college participation, voting patterns and charitable
donations - was B-, the same as two years ago.
Again, as two years ago, the National Center declined to grade
states on student learning, concluding that there is no coherent
measure of student achievement at the college level that permits
valid state-by-state comparisons. However, the National Center
is working on a project funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts
to develop a pilot model for evaluating student learning across
states, using both existing measures and others yet to be
devised. Illinois is one of the states participating in the
pilot project.
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